Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2017: attitudes data
This survey provides an important source of data on attitudes to government, the economy and public services over this period.
Part of
4. Importance of voting
The Scottish Social Attitudes ( SSA) Survey 2017 asked participants questions about voting in elections:
- How important do you think it is to vote in Scottish Parliament elections?
- How important do you think it is to vote in UK General elections?
- How important do you think it is to vote in Local Council elections?
In this chapter we present headline findings at a glance, and highlight statistically significant differences in views between different groups in the population.
How important is it to vote in elections?
Figure 8 shows that 92% of people said that voting in Scottish Parliament elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. For local council elections, this figure was 88% while for UK general elections it was 87%.
Over three-quarters (80%) of people said that voting was very or fairly important in all three elections while 5% of people said voting was not very or not at all important in all of the elections listed.
When these questions were first asked in 2005, 82% of people said that voting in Scottish Parliamentary elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. For local elections this figure was 82% while for UK general elections it was 85%.
In 2005, 74% of people said that voting was very or fairly important in all three elections while 9% of people said voting was not very or not at all important in all of the elections listed.
Figure 8 How important do you think it is to vote in Scottish Parliament, UK General and Local Council elections? (2017, %)
Variations in attitudes between subgroups
Views on whether voting in elections was important varied between a number of social groups, based on statistical significance. These are listed here. Variables with no statistically significant differences are listed in Annex A.
92% of people said that voting in Scottish Parliament elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. This varied by subgroup as follows [20] :
Voting in Scottish Parliament elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'
| Subgroups | % |
|---|---|
| Interest in politics | |
| Any interest in politics | 95 |
| 'No interest at all' in politics | 66 |
| Support for a political party | |
| Supported or felt close to a political party | 97 |
| Didn't feel close to a particular party | 83 |
| Living Comfortably | |
| Living comfortably on present income | 95 |
| Struggling on their present income | 84 |
| Political affiliation | |
| SNP supporter | 97 |
| Other | 90 |
| Tenure | |
| Home owners | 95 |
| Private renters | 90 |
| Social renters | 86 |
| Educational Qualification | |
| Degree or equivalent | 97 |
| No formal qualifications | 91 |
| Main Income Source | |
| Wages or private income | 93 |
| State benefits | 87 |
87% of people said that voting in UK general elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. This varied by subgroup as follows [21] :
Voting in UK general elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'
| Subgroups | % |
|---|---|
| Interest in politics | |
| Any interest in politics | 91 |
| 'No interest at all' in politics | 54 |
| Support for a political party | |
| Supported or felt close to a political party | 92 |
| Didn't feel close to a particular party | 77 |
| SIMD Quintiles | |
| Least Deprived | 94 |
| 2 | 92 |
| 3 | 91 |
| 4 | 75 |
| Most Deprived | 82 |
| Living Comfortably | |
| Living comfortably on present income | 91 |
| Struggling on their present income | 75 |
| Educational Qualification | |
| Degree or equivalent | 95 |
| No formal qualifications | 84 |
| Tenure | |
| Home owners | 91 |
| Private renters | 84 |
| Social renters | 78 |
| Economic Activity | |
| Education or full time training | 88 |
| In work or waiting to take up work | 87 |
| Unemployed | 72 |
| Retired | 93 |
| National identity | |
| More Scottish than British | 83 |
| Equally Scottish and British | 90 |
| More British than Scottish | 95 |
| Main Income Source | |
| Wages or private income | 89 |
| State benefits | 80 |
88% of people said that voting in Local Council elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. This varied by subgroup as follows [22] :
Voting in Local Council elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'
| Subgroups | % |
|---|---|
| Interest in politics | |
| Any interest in politics | 91 |
| 'No interest at all' in politics | 63 |
| Support for a political party | |
| Supported or felt close to a political party | 93 |
| Didn't feel close to a particular party | 78 |
| Economic Activity | |
| Education or full time training | 82 |
| In work or waiting to take up work | 89 |
| Unemployed | 73 |
| Retired | 92 |
| Religious Identity | |
| Religious | 92 |
| Non-religious | 85 |
| Main Income Source | |
| Wages or private income | 90 |
| State benefits | 81 |
| Educational Qualification | |
| Degree or equivalent | 93 |
| No formal qualifications | 86 |
| Living Comfortably | |
| Living comfortably on present income | 90 |
| Struggling on their present income | 81 |
| Tenure | |
| Home owners | 91 |
| Private renters | 85 |
| Social renters | 84 |